Holiday payment volume spikes are the new norm

Holiday payment volume spikes are the new norm

Whether it’s finding the perfect holiday gift for that special someone or buying the missing ingredient for tonight’s dinner, more and more shoppers are putting purchases off until the last minute.

In fact, despite record-breaking holiday sales in 2017, Cardlytics’ 2017 Holiday Spend report found that 25% of seasonal sales occurred during the last two weeks before Christmas (more than on the weeks of Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined).

With procrastination rapidly becoming the norm for busy shoppers, there are some ways for retailers to rise above the noise to help last-minute shoppers find everything on their list no matter what the occasion.

Bloomberg News

It’s critical that retailers tailor their marketing campaigns to the evolving shopping behaviors of consumers (including catering to their tendency to wait until the last minute). Strategies like free ship-to-store deals, cash-back mobile rewards campaigns, shipping guarantees that are shareable via email, and extended in-store hours help attract last-minute shoppers.

The amount of money spent on online is increasing, but approximately 92% of consumer spending still occurs in-store. That means that, while e-commerce marketing strategies are important, marketers shouldn’t ignore the power of driving foot traffic. This is even more critical when trying to appeal to procrastinators because sometimes even rush delivery isn’t fast enough!

Consumers are veering away from tradition and choosing to shop in unconventional places for special occasions. For example, our purchase intelligence shows that traditional retailers like department and toy stores have experienced a recent decline in overall spend throughout the holiday season, while less traditional merchants like pet stores have increased in popularity. It’s critical for retailers to execute marketing campaigns that uniquely target each shopping category to capture specialty shoppers alongside traditionalists.

Constantly changing consumer shopping habits make it difficult for merchants to keep up. A word to the wise during these crucial first weeks of the new year: Don’t procrastinate in engaging the procrastinators.